Trial Starts Today In Lawsuit Against Gunmaker

Gunmaker On Trial Today In 1984 Death

January 27, 1992|By CHRISTOPHER KEATING; Courant Staff Writer

ENFIELD — Carlos Caetano says the full truth has never been revealed in the bizarre 1984 shooting death of his 27-year-old wife.

The shooter, who was seven months pregnant, told police that she tripped over the family cat in her apartment and, off balance, accidentally fired a loaded revolver. The bullet pierced her living room window and traveled about 25 feet before hitting Catherine Caetano in the head.

Caetano had been walking to a neighbor's apartment with her two children, aged 5 and 7. They watched her die on the pavement.

Tonja Tyler, the shooter, was never charged because Hartford State's Attorney John M. Bailey declined to sign a warrant application submitted by Enfield police.

"We could not prove intent," said Bailey, who ruled that the shooting was accidental. "You have to have intent."

Carlos Caetano doesn't know about intent, but he does believe there must be more to the story.

"No one's come out and said what really happened," he said. "I'd like to know. I'd like to find out. There's still the doubt. It's never been answered. No one knows. ... I know it was seven years ago, but we're still looking for answers from the beginning."

He hopes to find out in a civil trial that starts today in Superior Court in New London. The victim's family is suing Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc., the Fairfield County gun manufacturer that made the .357 magnum target pistol that killed Caetano.

Carlos Caetano, now living in Somers, still operates the Dunkin' Donuts shop on Route 5 in Enfield he ran at the time of the shooting.

Tyler, now 32, has since moved from Enfield, but family lawyer Raymond Trebisacci would not disclose her new hometown or make her available for an interview.

For this trial, she already has appeared on a videotaped deposition that lasted several hours. It is not certain she will testify in person.

The civil trial hinges on the design and safety of the gun. Lawyers for the family say the gun was defective, while the gun

company says the weapon was designed properly and has an excellent safety record.

Stephen Sanetti, the general counsel for Sturm Ruger, said the firm has made more than 1 million copies of the double-action revolver -- a weapon that he described as "the standard police sidearm for most of the century."

The revolver was owned by Tyler's husband, who was a prison guard at the maximum-security prison in Somers. He told police that he had just reloaded the gun after returning home from target practice. She was carrying the gun about 10:45 p.m. when it went off.

Both sides plan to have pistol experts testify on the gun and the trajectory of the bullet.

"The gun is manufactured without a safety," said Peter Bartinik, a Groton lawyer for the family. "If a safety had been incorporated into that gun, we would not have had this unfortunate incident. The gun would not have gone off."

Bartinik said he concurs with the official prosecutor's ruling that the shooting was accidental. "If you did the experiment 10 times, I'm sure the bullet would go 10 different ways."

The manufacturer defended its product, stating that the gun has been used by police and law-enforcement authorities for decades with little problem.

"With this particular model, there's been very few product-liability claims," said Sanetti, adding that the company has made the revolver since 1970. "The gun has an excellent safety record. We do not think there is anything wrong with the product."

Sanetti said the two sides have not had serious discussions on settling the case before trial. The company, he said, was not interested in settling the case because officials believe there is nothing wrong with the gun.

The six-person jury will be picked starting today, and selection could take one week.

This is the second civil suit filed in the incident. The victim's family sued Tyler in 1986, but that action was settled before trial.

Caetano had lived at 57 Daro Drive in Enfield. Tyler lived at 41 Daro Drive. They were acquaintances at a modern rental complex called Crossroads of Enfield, across the street from the John F. Kennedy Middle School.

The case baffled police and prosecutors in 1984. Bailey, who has reviewed thousands of cases as the region's chief prosecutor, said the shooting was "one of the strangest" he has ever seen.

The state's forensics expert, Dr. Henry Lee, helped detectives and the state police major crimes squad re-enact the shooting. The authorities went back to the apartment and duplicated the events as described by Tyler. Lee could not be reached for comment.